Welcome to our weekly e-newsletter - What's Up in Wake Forest. Here you'll find information about Town programs, services, activities, projects, special events, and more! If you haven't already, tell your friends and neighbors to visit our E-Notifier page to learn about our full array of free email offerings.

Friday Night on White returns to downtown tonight (Friday, June 10), at 6 p.m. with Soul Psychedelique.

The following food and dessert trucks will be onsite: Charlie's on Wheels, Chirba Chirba Dumpling, Cousins Maine Lobster, Kona Ice, Lumpy's Ice Cream, The Naked Empanada, Off the Hook Seafood, Peyton's Place Open Pit BBQ, Trash Talk, the VFW Chuck Wagon, and Virgil's Jamaica.

This year's remaining concert schedule features Love Tribe (July 15); The Brickhouse Band (August 12); and Crush (September 9).

Due to the threat of inclement weather, the grand opening of the Flaherty Park Outdoor Fitness Park is being postponed. Originally scheduled for Saturday, June 11, at 10 a.m., the grand opening will be rescheduled for later this month. A new date is expected to be announced next week.
 
Located at 1226 N. White St., the new outdoor fitness court is an open-air wellness center that allows users to leverage their own body weight to get a complete workout. Created for adults of all ages, the Fitness Court is adaptable for all fitness levels. 

The Wake Forest Fire Department will host a special dedication service for the new Wake Forest Firefighters Memorial Garden at Fire Station #1 on Friday, June 17, at 10 a.m. The station is located at 420 Elm Avenue and the Memorial Garden is situated at the corner of Elm and South Franklin Street.

The public is invited to attend the dedication service which will include brief remarks by Fire Chief Ron Early and the unveiling of two new memorial benches, one of which is in honor of Lewis Nuckles, a Wake Forest volunteer fireman who died in the line of duty in 1982.

An aircraft manufacturer is tapping Wake Forest for a new Integration Facility expected to create 125 engineering and manufacturing jobs over the next few years.

Blue Force Technologies, Inc., an industry leader in the design and manufacture of airframes and components for small aircraft up through spacecraft, plans to invest a minimum of $3 million in the facility formerly occupied by 3Phoenix, Inc., located at 204 Capcom Ave.

The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, in partnership with Resources for Seniors and the Wake Forest Senior Information Group (SING), will host a special event for senior caregivers on Thursday, June 16, from 4-7 p.m. at the Northern Wake Senior Center, 235 E. Holding Ave.

Free and open to everyone, the Senior Caregiver Expo will feature dozens of local experts discussing a range of topics, including stress management, housing options, financial planning, and legal documents. Attendees can also learn about local assistance programs, services, products, and resources available to senior caregivers – all in one location.

Free and open to the public, this year's Juneteenth Celebration will begin at 11:15 a.m. with a Freedom Walk that begins and ends at The Dubois Center, 518 N. Franklin St. Participants are encouraged to begin assembling for the march at 11 a.m.

Immediately following the Freedom Walk there will be food, activities, music, and more! 

The day's activities will highlight the freeing of the slaves in Texas two years after the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation. For more information, email Tilda Caudle.
 
The PRCR Department is hosting a free, monthly outdoor movie series through August at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road. The second in the series of Family Movie Nights at Joyner Park will feature the film “Secret Life of Pets 2” on Saturday, June 18, at 8:30 p.m.
 
Each Family Movie Night will also include a movie-related pre-show activity for kids beginning at 7:15 p.m. 

You can make a difference in our community by applying to fill one of two vacancies on the Urban Forestry Board (UFB) and one of three vacancies on the PRCR Advisory Board. All residents of Wake Forest and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) are eligible to apply.

The online application for both boards is available. Anyone without access to a computer is invited to complete the application by using a computer kiosk in the lobby of Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St. Hard copies are available upon request by contacting Executive Assistant Cathi Pope.  

The Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Advisory Board will host an Art in the Park Painting Class for people of all ages and skill levels on Saturday, Aug. 27, at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road.

Two classes will be offered according to the following schedule:

  • 9:30-11:30 am - Children, ages 6-11
  • 1:30-3:30 pm - Youth/Adults, ages 12 and older

Online registration is open to the first 60 people to register via RecDesk (search Art in the Park). 

Fireworks, food trucks, live entertainment, children’s activities, and more await you at Wake Forest’s 2022 Independence Day Celebration. Presented by Capital Chevrolet, this year’s event promises two days’ worth of free fun and excitement for the entire family.

The festivities get underway Sunday, July 3, with the Fireworks Spectacular inside Husky Stadium on the campus of Heritage High School, 1150 Forestville Road. Admission is free. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m., the Band of Oz will take the stage at 6:15 p.m., and the fireworks show will begin at approximately 9:30 p.m. Be sure to come hungry as several food and dessert trucks will be onsite.

The revelry will continue Monday, July 4, with the Children's Parade and Art in the Park.

Provided below are announcements about projects that will impact Wake Forest motorists over the next several weeks. Please use the information to help plan your route and move safely through the affected areas.

Week of June 13
During the week of June 13, Town crews will repair the sidewalk along the southbound side of South Main Street/US 1A from West Owen Avenue to Elm Avenue daily from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Signage and cones will be in place to manage traffic flow and alert pedestrians and motorists of the work in progress. 


Through July 31
Wellons Construction, Inc., a private contractor, has closed the portion of Averette Road from Jack Jones Road to Mill Dam Road. Scheduled through late summer, the closure is necessary to allow crews to widen and realign this portion of Averette Road. Signed detours are in place directing traffic around the work area.


Ongoing
Fred Smith Company, a contractor working at the future Legacy at Heritage, will periodically reduce to one lane with alternating two-way traffic the portion of Heritage Lake Road from Dr. Calvin Jones Highway/NC 98 Bypass to Friendship Chapel Road daily from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. The periodic lane closures are necessary to allow crews to widen the road and install a storm drain and curb and gutter.

Signage and flaggers will be in place to manage traffic flow and safely direct motorists through the work area. Delays are expected, so motorists may wish to avoid the area and take an alternate route.
 
 
Ongoing
Fred Smith Company, a contractor working on the Holding Village subdivision, will initiate lane reductions along eastbound and westbound Dr. Calvin Jones Highway/NC 98 Bypass in the vicinity of the South Franklin Street intersection daily from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. The lane reductions are necessary to allow crews to extend South Franklin Street and convert the intersection to a Reduced Conflict Intersection, also known as a superstreet.

Signage and cones will be in place to manage traffic flow and safely direct motorists through the work areas. Delays are expected, so motorists may wish to avoid these areas if possible and take an alternate route. 

Related

The Town of Wake Forest and several local veterans’ organizations will continue their monthly flag-raising ceremonies in Town Hall’s Centennial Plaza on Monday, July 11, at 11 a.m.

The 41st Wake Forest Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremony will honor Allen Johnson who served his nation in the US Navy.

Please note: The July flag-raising ceremony will take place one week later than normal due to the Independence Day holiday.

The Malpass Brothers will take the stage at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre on Saturday, July 23, at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are on sale and going fast. Reserved seats range in price from $20-$30 and can be purchased online with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover credit card. Advance tickets may also be purchased with cash, check, or credit card at the Renaissance Centre Box Office, 405 S. Brooks St. On the day of the concert tickets can be purchased at the door. Please note: This concert is expected to sell out, so anyone interested in attending is encouraged to purchase their tickets early.

Holding Park Aquatic Center (HPAC) is open for the 2022 season. To help ensure an enjoyable experience for everyone, patrons must register and pay online in advance. No walk-ins will be allowed. Pre-registration opens 14 days in advance, and closes when full, or within one hour of the session. For example, a patron must register by 7:59 a.m. for a 9 a.m. session. 

Taylor Street Park Sprayground, 416 N. Taylor St., is open for the season.

Free and open to the public, the sprayground now operates according to the following schedule:

  • Monday-Saturday, 10 am-8 p.m.
  • Sunday, 1-8 p.m.

To view the full 2022 schedule, visit our website.

The PRCR Department is offering a limited edition water bottle highlighting E. Carroll Joyner Park as the first in a series of “Health & Wellness” merchandise available for purchase. As part of its mission to promote health and wellness in our community, the PRCR Department plans to sell various items over the next several months as a way of encouraging citizens to stay active.

Available for $20 each (while supplies last), the “Find Joy in Joyner Park” water bottle reflects the rustic charm of Joyner Park with a special emphasis on the park’s pecan grove.

The Wake Forest Police Department is reminding residents to report crime and suspicious activity to law enforcement before posting the information on social media.

As the popularity of social media continues to increase, many people are using it to report suspicious activity and crime. The problem is that not all who report such activity online report it to the police as well. Simply put – tagging the WFPD on a social media post is not reporting a crime. Not even close.

The Town of Wake Forest is inviting individuals, families, churches and civic clubs to join the “Show Some Love, #KeepWFclean” campaign by picking up trash in their neighborhoods and along local streets and roadways. The initiative allows volunteers to pick up litter on a one-time or ongoing basis. Participants may also choose the area they wish to clean or request direction to high need areas around town.

To aid the effort, volunteers may reserve litter kits at no charge by completing the online reservation form. Each litter kit includes reflective vests, gloves, buckets, grabbers, trash bags, data collection sheets, hand sanitizer and litter education materials. A special thanks to B&W Hardware for donating the litter kits.
 
Loose trash in trucks creates litter along Wake Forest roadways.
 
Help keep Wake Forest roadways clean by securing any trash in your truck bed. When you throw trash in the back of your truck, it inevitably blows out and becomes litter on the roadside. In fact, half of all litter is blown, not thrown! Roadside litter costs millions of dollars to remove, decreases property values and has a negative impact on tourism.
 
The NC Department of Public Safety reports that an even bigger problem is unsecured loads in the back of trucks. At high speeds, even large items can fly out and hurt or startle other drivers causing accidents. Put trash into built-in containers. Use tarps, cargo nets and tie-downs to secure any loads. #KeepWFclean
The Town of Wake Forest is celebrating the return of warmer weather by hosting a wonderful array of outdoor events and activities for the entire family. From our Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremonies and the Easter Egg Hunt to Friday Night on White and Family Movie Nights at Joyner Park, spring and summer in Wake Forest are jam-packed with fun-filled outdoor events guaranteed to help you forget “Old Man Winter.”

To help inform area residents about all these events, the Town offers Wake Forest Outdoors. The webpage provides detailed information all in one place about our area’s most popular springtime and summer happenings.
Talbot Talks Friday Night on White
 
The following monthly meeting schedule is now in effect:
 
Board of Commissioners Work Session
First Tuesday/month - 6 p.m.

Joint Public Hearings
First Tuesday/month - 7:30 p.m.

Planning Board Meeting
Second Tuesday/month - 6 p.m.

Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting
Third Tuesday/month - 6 p.m.

Related
 
View Town meetings live & on demand

Planning Board and Board of Commissioners meetings can be viewed both live and on demand by visiting our Public Meetings Portal. Meetings are available in streaming video for several years after their original air date and featured in a convenient scroll-down menu. 
 
These meetings are also shown live on Wake Forest TV 10 - the Town of Wake Forest’s government access channel - then re-broadcast daily for two weeks at 9 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m. 
 
Although WFTV 10 is available only to Wake Forest residents and businesses that subscribe to Spectrum Cable TV service, WFTV 10 is also provided online in real-time streaming video.

The Town of Wake Forest has launched a comprehensive public education campaign on proper recycling behaviors.

#RecycleRightWF introduces and emphasizes a series of easy-to-understand messages aimed at simplifying the recycling process and improving the quality of materials residents place in their rollout recycling carts.

The Northern Wake Senior Center, 235 E. Holding Ave., offers adults age 55 and older a full schedule of recreational activities. Programming at the center is provided by Resources for Seniors, Inc. The organization serves senior and disabled adults in Wake County by providing home and community-based services and information, thereby allowing them to maximize their choices for independence, comfort, safety, security and well-being.
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If you have questions or comments about the Town of Wake Forest website or E-News, please contact Bill Crabtree by email or call 919-435-9421.